Up On The Roof
by J9
Summary: On Halloween night, Teresa takes some time out. (JoelTeresa, future fic)


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Title: Up On The Roof

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Author: Jeanine

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Fandom: Boomtown

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Pairing: Joel/Teresa

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Rating: PG

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Disclaimer: NBC owns everything. 

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Notes: For the LiveJournal Writer's Choice "Halloween" challenge. 

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Teresa knew that Halloween sucked for paramedics. After last year, she knew that it also sucked for cops. This year though has been the worst ever, and she's still got at least half a shift to go. She needs some peace and quiet, so when her break comes, she escapes to the roof, where no-one else ever goes, sits on the ledge and looks out at the night sky. She takes deep breaths, closing her eyes and trying to forget who and where she is, but somewhere in the distance, a siren wails and fireworks go off, and the moment is shattered. 

Neither of those things make her jump; that's due to a voice coming from behind her. "I thought I was the only one who comes up here." 

She turns, even as she registers whose voice it is, her heart lurching in a way that has very little to do with fright. "Guess we were both wrong," she says, not taking her eyes off Joel as he comes towards her, shoulders rounded, hands in his jacket pockets. "I didn't think you'd be working tonight," she continues, because he's a family man, and he's usually off on Halloween, taking his boy trick-or-treating. 

Except that last year, he was off for a different reason, and the second she remembers that, she sees the knowledge sear painfully through his eyes. 

"Willie's staying with friends tonight," he explains, sitting down heavily, resting his hands on his knees. "They're having a sleep-over, going around the houses in the neighbourhood…"

His voice trails off, and she tilts her head curiously. "You didn't want to take him?" 

The second the words are out, she wants to bite off her tongue, feels even more guilty when he replies, his tone heavy, "I figured he deserved a normal Halloween… after last year…" 

Because last year, no-one in the Stevens family, actual or extended, had felt much like celebrating Halloween, because it had been scarcely two weeks since the accident that had seriously injured Willie and killed his mother. Teresa had been one of the officers called to the scene of the four car pile-up, it had been she who had called Fearless, given him the news, because she couldn't bear to tell Joel herself. They'd arrived minutes later, far quicker than she would have thought possible, and the look on Joel's face had haunted her dreams for many weeks afterwards. 

"I'm sorry," she says now, guilt rising up in her throat like bile. "I didn't think…"

"It's ok," he interrupts, and there's an awkward silence. "Anyway," he concludes. "I'd forgotten what Halloween on the streets was like. So I came up here for a break." 

Against the odds, she chuckles. "You and me both." Then, with a shrug, she adds, "Of course, at least this year I wasn't taken hostage by thieves and forced to give emergency medical treatment… anything after that's a bonus right?" 

He grins, the cloud around him seeming to dissipate for a moment, but only for a moment. Then his face darkens again and he shakes his head. "I can't believe that was only two years ago…" he murmurs, almost to himself, and, not stopping to think about what she's doing, to talk herself out of it, she reaches out, laying a hand on his knee. 

"Seems like a lifetime ago, huh?" she asks, because lord knows, she feels that way sometimes. 

"Kelly and me, we took Willie out around the neighbourhood," he says, staring off into the distance. "Fearless called me, told me about you, so I had to leave early… she took Willie around the rest of the neighbourhood herself…" Seeing her puzzled frown, he continues, "It probably doesn't sound like a big thing… but that was the first time she'd done anything like that since… you know." She squeezes his knee, a silent acknowledgement, and he drops his head, sighing. "It was the first time I could see that she was doing better… that she was getting back to normal. She had so much life in her Teresa… so much left to do…" 

Her free hand moves to his back, slides across to his shoulder. "I know," she whispers. "I know." 

He looks up then, his pained eyes meeting her worried ones. "I loved her," he tells her, and while those words are like a knife to her heart, his next words stop it altogether. "I did love her… but there were times I would see you… and I would wonder…" 

As he speaks, he lifts a hand, runs it along her cheek, and she closes her eyes at the weight of the touch, has to swallow hard against the lump in her throat. How many times, she wonders, has she dreamed of him saying words like that to her, only for reality to come crashing in when they're about to kiss? She almost expects that to happen now, but when she opens her eyes, all she can see is him. 

"Wonder what?" she breathes, and his thumb sweeps along her cheek as he leans in towards her. 

"What would happen if I did this." 

His lips on hers are soft and fleeting as a whisper, but she knows she's not dreaming now, because although she's imagined scenarios like this, he's never kissed her before, and while the kiss may be brief, she feels the impact of it down to her toes. 

He pulls back only enough to rest his forehead against hers, his hand still on her cheek, and she's surprised to see what looks strangely like fear on his face. 

So she smiles, lifts her hand from his knee to his cheek, mimicking how he's touching her. "I'd have done this," she replies, bringing her lips to his for a kiss that's longer, more passionate, than the first. 

Somewhere in the distance, she swears she can hear fireworks, and the last thing she remembers thinking is that maybe Halloween isn't so bad after all. 


End file.
